Wales’ new economy secretary sets out his vision for the nation

WALES’ new economy secretary has set out his priorities against the backdrop of a significant rise in economic inactivity and a fall in employment compared to the rest of the UK.

In a statement to the Senedd about his economic vision, Jeremy Miles said increasing productivity and economic dynamism will be his number one priority.

He told the chamber his second priority is to attract and encourage business investment, both in established businesses based in Wales and from new investors.

Mr Miles, who narrowly lost out to Vaughan Gething in the race to become new First Minister, said his third priority is to redesign employability and skills support, ensuring that economic priorities, apprenticeships and vocational education are all aligned.

However, opposition MSs warned that Wales’ economy is underperforming and urged the Welsh Government to set firm targets to measure success.

Mr Miles, who is also responsible for energy, cautioned that ongoing financial constraints as well as political and economic uncertainty at a UK level make the aims more challenging.

He said: “The legacy of EU withdrawal, the pandemic and ongoing budgetary constraints have weakened the economy.

“The slowdown in UK productivity has impacted output, wages and household incomes, and these inequalities were already more acute in Wales before this time.”

The former education minister, who retains responsibility for the Welsh language, criticised the “cack-handed’ approach of the prime minister to so-called sick note culture. Mr Miles described the UK Government crackdown on the number of people signed off from work as a brutal way of approaching a very complex challenge.